Late Night Final
by troddensn0w
Summary: Welcome to Late Night Final, listeners. Here on the show, our host is having a bad time generally, with the problem of a reluctant romance with his co-host and something new happening in the sky at 23:47 every night for thirteen minutes.
1. Chapter One: Overture

A voice in my ear. A warm body pressed against mine. " _Please_. I don't know what to do anymore." A hand, dragging me away from the party -into the house -upstairs- through a door- onto a bed- then-

 _Late Night Final, chapter one:_

 _Overture_

I get out of bed, moving without paying attention to how I'm moving. A single phrase repeats in my mind, over, and over, and _over_ again: ' _I don't know what to do anymore'. "_ Damn." My head feels like it's been split open. Muttering to myself about nothing much, I stroll down the stairs to the broadcast room.

Inside, I put on my headphones, close the door and pull the latches at the top and bottom. It's eight a.m. The perfect time to read something onto the air. I set everything up and turn on the mic.

"Hello. Ladies, gentlemen, and... _esteemed others,_ we have something _really_ special in store today. It's the _Late Night Final'_ s Dramatic Readings! On today's session, we have something I think you'll all love: _Trial Twelve,_ by award-winning author Alex Yeates.

I start reading:

I wake up in the sky.

My name is Will Grant, I'm sixteen, and I don't know where I'm going.

-o0o-

When I finish the first part of the book, it's almost twelve, so I put on an old recording of me reading _2001,_ and go to eat something.

I return at twelve-thirty having eaten a bagel, and come back onto the air: "Listeners, I have returned to give you live music. It's... Lords of Works in Progress, live in session for _Late Night Final_! Comprised of two members, they cannot be described. Seriously, you have _got_ to listen to them."

And they play. It's fantastic, but somehow reminds me of-

No.

I'm not going to get into that again. I need to focus on the show.

And I do. The live music continues, with Hat Sam and Night Night thrown into the mix.

-o0o-

I can't forget it. Hot breath on my ear, coaxing me away from the party, distracting, hands on mine, on my chest on my-

NO!

God! Why is this memory alone taking me over! I turn off the music and tell the mic that the regular programming will be interrupted, then go upstairs to the attic where I normally live and recreate and shit, and-

-o0o-

Sorry about that. I return to the broadcast room, and put on a recording of _Dune,_ and leave. I stay in the attic and read for a bit.

"Fuck," I whisper, and put on another pair of headphones, and play _Heel Turn 2_ by the Mountain Goats.

"I don't want to die in here," I sing, for anyone who wants to hear to do so. "I don't want to die in here." The playlist continues. _The Kingdom of the Universe_

I keep listening.

-o0o-

 **Note: All lyrics belong to The Mountain Goats and Ashley Park. 2001 belongs to Arthur C. Clarke. Dune belongs to Frank Herbert. If you read this, I love you. Please read this and more of it in the future.**


	2. Five Minutes of Simon Swearing

_Last time we left off, our host kept listening. This time, his co-host wakes up, he sticks it out, and his co-host comes onto him, as it were._

 _Late Night Final, chapter Two:_

Five Minutes of Simon Swearing

My playlist ends, and there's a knock at the door. "Simon?" The same voice that had been in my ear only hours before.

"Yeah. What's happening, Blue?" I respond. She enters. I'd never admit this to her, but she looks really good. Tangled brown hair, wearing only a black t-shirt that comes down to her knees, glasses. _fuck. Fuck._ "What was the last Discworld you finished on air?" Blue asks. I tell her it was _Maskerade,_ and she leaves to find _Feet of Clay._

It apparently takes a while to find, but eventually I join her to play some characters.

We read for a couple of hours, making it a ways through the book, but hen leave off for a bit. Blue says. "So, listeners, it really is a late night final now. It's eleven p.m where we are, and we're both going to sleep. Goodbye." She turns the mic off and we leave the studio, talking about other books for the air.

I get into bed and pull a blanket around myself, oblivious to Blue lying next to me.

It's quarter to twelve. 23:47, to be precise. I stand up and look out of the window.

There are lights in the sky: blue, and red, and purple, and green, and _what the fuck?_

I don't hear anything. Like, seriously, _anything._ There's no sound for the next thirteen minutes, until twelve hits and it's a new day. I still don't hear anything as Blue comes up behind me and hugs me from behind. " _Blue,"_ I whisper.

"Yes?" she asks, and I feel a hand at my waist.

" _We shouldn't. Not again. Not so... soon,"_ I continue, pushing her hand away and guiding her back to bed.

-o0o-

Morning. Blue is sitting up in bed next to me, reading _The Raven Boys_. I get out of bed and head downstairs, humming something which I can't identify at first, but belatedly realise is _Heel Turn 2_ again.

Eating a sandwich, I head upstairs back to the attic. For the next few minutes, I think and mutter to myself about all sorts, including music, and Blue, and books.

Blue is in the recording booth, reading _The Book Thief_ for the air, and I'm looking for results on Google about ' _lights in the sky over York_ '. Not much, but a result from a website called _conspiracy.co.uk_ , which is an interesting name for a website.

 **Conspiracy Main Page**

York Lights in the Sky

I select the 'lights' link and read the article. Not much, just something about aliens and government cover-ups. ' _Shit._ ' I turn off the laptop and go to help Blue read.

Her voices are great, and even normally hearing her voice is amazing. "And, sadly, that's all for today, listeners," she says, "Tune in tomorrow for more of _The Book Thief_ , and also music and things, you know how it is on Late Night Final. Goodbye."

Not much happens for the rest of the day.

Later, as I find myself thinking about Blue, my thoughts are interrupted by _i want to hear her talk again._ This leads to me copiously swearing under my breath for about five minutes.

Blue enters shortly after I've finished swearing. I stand up and hug her, then start talking to her. "God, Blue, I know how you feel. I just want to hear you talking _forever_. I _need_ you." I stop speaking and she kisses me, and I kiss her back (as it were). She mutters " _Please_ ," into my ears for the second time in a few days, and I lower my arm and leave it wrapped around her waist.

-o0o-

Me and Blue lie next to each other on the floor.

I stand up, my legs infected with pins and needles, go to the bathroom, then head back to Blue's room and sit against the wall with a blanket around me.

I stick it out in Blue's room.

-o0o-

 **Note: all properties (The Book Thief, The Raven Boys, Maskerade, Feet of Clay, Discworld) belong to their respective authors.**


End file.
